Catch 'Em in the Rye

Bird-Hunting Guide Aims to Treat Customers Right

From mid-September through the end of February, the rice fields around El Campo, Texas, attract geese and ducks like a feedyard draws flies. But it wasn't always so, according to local farmer Gail "Bug" Morton.

"It wasn't until we started planting ryegrass for our cattle in about the '70s that the geese moved in. There were so many of them, they would eat all the grass, and we'd have to replant," he recalls. "We begged people to come and hunt."

Times have changed. These days, Morton plants ryegrass as a lure crop, and hunters from across the country hire his son, Wesley, owner of South Texas Waterfowl, to guide their hunting trips to the Texas rice belt.

Snow Goose Draws Customers
"Local hunters usually come for the ducks, but the snow goose is what brings customers from out of state for four or five days," Wesley says. "The snow goose is more wary than other birds, and that's what they seem to like."

When it comes to geese, ducks or any South Texas wildlife, for that matter, Wesley, 30, knows what he's talking about. He started hunting deer with his dad at age seven. Four years later, he and his cousin were hunting ducks without their fathers.

"Wesley always loved to hunt, but I was usually too busy farming to go with him, so he would take his friends hunting," says Gail.

Those endless early mornings in the duck blinds paid off when Wesley was 19 and started guiding paying hunters, working first for his father-in-law and then for other outfitters, while continuing to farm with Gail. Wherever he guided, many of his customers followed.

"It was about five years ago I put a pencil to paper to see if I could make my own business work," Wesley says. About the same time, his employer, the South Texas Hunting Co., dissolved, and he decided to start his own outfit.

"When this deal came up, I went and talked to Bill Baker at Capital Farm Credit. My family's done business with him for years, and Bill's the one who got me the operating funds."

Last year, he also leased Broken Back Lodge, an existing facility that sleeps 17 hunters. Located 15 miles northwest of El Campo, it is no more than a 30-minute drive from any of the company's hunting leases.

Leases 25,000 Acres for Hunting
South Texas Waterfowl has leases with seven landowners on 25,000 to 30,000 acres of farmland in Wharton, Jackson and Lavaca counties, roughly an hour's drive southwest of Houston, Texas. "You have to have that much land because the birds move," he explains. "All the landowners I lease from are people I've known all my life, and that helps tremendously," he says, "because they know I'm going to take care of their property."

While South Texas Waterfowl specializes in guided duck and goose hunts, the company also offers saltwater fishing in Matagorda Bay, 40 miles south of El Campo. Dove, deer and upland quail and pheasant hunts can be arranged in the afternoons, and hog hunts in the evenings. For downtime at the lodge, clay pigeons are also available. If a customer is interested in sandhill cranes, Wesley and his staff of five guides are always willing to scout the giant bird. The five guides have an average of seven years of guiding experience. Each one is equipped with an ATV, and each has his own black Labrador retrievers.

Ninety Percent Repeat Business
South Texas Waterfowl expects 300 to 400 customers for the coming hunting season, and many of those booked their 2003 hunts last fall. "Ninety percent of our business is repeat customers," Wesley says.

For Joey Dickey of International Cellulose Corporation in Houston, Texas, this will be his fourth season to treat clients to a weekend of duck- and goose-hunting with South Texas Waterfowl.

"We used another service one year, but we weren't treated as well, and their discipline in gun safety was somewhat lacking," Dickey says.

"Wesley's good at what he does. He can scout the birds and call the birds; he maintains his equipment, and he's prepared and safety-conscious," Dickey says. "He's the reason we stay with him."

Outfitting Diversifies Ag Operation
No amount of hunting experience can attract or keep birds on the land, however, if the fields are not flooded. Therefore, an outfitter has to supplement rainfall throughout the hunting season by pumping water onto the fields. In a dry year - as 2003 is starting out to be for southeast Texas - Wesley's pumping costs can quickly exceed $20,000 and eat into net income.

Still, the business is a good fit with the Mortons' cattle, milo and rice farming operation. While Wesley manages promotion and customer relations, his wife Jennifer handles the paperwork. Gail supports the business by running errands and helping with hog hunts.

"Wesley grew up farming and hunting, and he works hard at both. Outfitting is a great way for him to add diversity to his agricultural operation and keep it on an even keel," says Baker, president of Capital Farm Credit's Edna and El Campo branch offices.

But at the end of a 16-hour day of guiding, picking up decoys and scouting the next day's birds, the greatest reward is not the income, according to Wesley.

"Making friends and meeting new people. That's the best part," he says.

Article by Janet Hunter. Bird photos by Bink Grimes

For more information, contact South Texas Waterfowl: Phone (866) 543-4390, Fax (979) 543-6015, E-mail: mortonjv@wcnet.net.

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